Hadas Parush    Champion of the Desert

04:25 min.

Hazem Abu Queder became the hero of the Abu Queder village (Alzarnug, an unrecognized village in the Negev, some 14 kilometers south-east of Beersheba). Due to his love of martial arts Hazem built a gym in 2013, and began teaching and training the village children. By teaching the children karate Hazem instills in the children the values of self-confidence, tolerance, restraint, and mutual respect. In addition to a sense of empowerment which he gave the Abu Queder community, he created mutual interest among the village children and children from other communities through joint training sessions and competitions against martial arts clubs throughout Israel and the world.
Thanks to Hazem, the unrecognized village, which does not appear on any official geographical map of the State of Israel, is now on the map of martial arts.

Appeared on the Jerusalem Post website,
www.jpost.com
October – November 2012

Directing, photography, sound and editing: Hadas Parush